Big Plans
Big Plans is the first episode of Bonds. Plot We see the vast emptiness of outer space, not a thing to be seen. Suddenly, a small brown UFO-like spaceship with grey-tinted windows whizzes past the screen. A Plumber ship trails a considerable distance behind it. There is a medium-sized hole at the top of the brown ship, with smoke coming out of it. The screen zooms into the Plumber ship to show a female Arachnichimp piloting it with a U-shaped steering wheel, while a male Detrovite and a male Maxatomar stand to her left and right, respectively. All three are dressed in standard Plumber suits. Detrovite: Lal'Ek, how fast is this thing going? Arachnichimp/Lal'Ek: Max speed. Detrovite: And he's still ahead of us. Lal'Ek presses two buttons on the tips of the steering wheel, causing the ship to fire out a large red blast of energy at the other one, which simply swerves to the left to avoid it. Lal'Ek: Gah! Maxatomar: Maybe we should ask for backup. We might be in over our heads. Lal'Ek: No way. Do you want us to seem incompetent on our very first mission? Maxatomar: I think we're way past incompetent. A beeping sound is heard. Lal'Ek and the Maxatomar turn to look at the male Detrovite. Detrovite: Must be Magister Gilhil. Maxatomar: Ask for backup. Lal'Ek: No. Maxatomar: Yes. Detrovite: (groans) Make up your minds. Not wanting to extend the back-and-forth between herself and the Maxatomar, she sighs and waves her lower left hand dismissively. Lal'Ek: Answer it. The Detrovite takes out his Plumber badge from his pocket and taps it. A full-body hologram of Magister Gilhil appears on it. He has his hands clasped together behind his back. Detrovite: Magister. He shakily raises his right hand to salute Magister Gilhil, quaking in fear due to the Magister's hardened expression. Gilhil: Wysaq, what took you so long? Detrovite/Wysaq: N-Nothing, Magister. Magister Gilhil stares at him for a few seconds, unamused, and Wysaq smiles awkwardly as he puts his right hand down. Gilhil: Status report. Wysaq: Still in pursuit, sir. Gilhil: You were supposed to capture him hours ago! Wysaq lowers his hand so that it's positioned within Lal'Ek's field of view. She takes her eyes off the void of space in front of her to look at Magister Gilhil's hologram. 'Lal'Ek: We- We know, sir. Psychobos has been much harder to capture than we first thought. The ship begins to swerve to the right. '''Maxatomar: Eyes on the roa- uh... space! Lal'Ek: Oh, sorry. She focuses on the view in front of her once again. Gilhil: (sighs in frustration) Would you like backup? Maxatomar: Ye- Lal'Ek: Wait, Magister, let me try something! Maxatomar: (mutters under his breath) Sure, nobody listens to the little guy. Wysaq brings his hand out of Lal'Ek's field of view and leans closer to the window, waiting to see what she has in mind. The Maxatomar does the same. Suddenly, the Plumber ship begins to slow down, then stops completely in its tracks. Maxatomar: Hey! What are you doing?! Dr. Psychobos' ship slowly gets further and further away from the Plumber ship. Lal'Ek begins to look at the buttons on the ship's dashboard. Gilhil: What's going on? Maxatomar: Yeah, why'd you stop? He's getting away! Lal'Ek: I'll need all the power this ship has. Adjusting the steering wheel a little, she presses a circular blue button labeled with alien symbols. A compartment opens up under the ship and fires a small missile straight ahead. The camera follows the missile as it hits the back of Dr. Psychobos' ship, wedging itself in it. The ship slows down, before stopping and falling. The camera pans downwards to show its descent towards Earth. We return to the Plumbers as their ship approaches Earth. They lean towards the window and look down to see Dr. Psychobos' ship falling to Earth. Magister Gilhil's hologram is still on Wysaq's Plumber badge. Gilhil: What's going on? I can't see anything. Lal'Ek: Well, we have good news. I fired an EMP missile at Psychobos' ship and we've caught up to him. Bad news, his ship is plummeting to Earth's orbit as we speak. Magister Gilhil shakes his head in disappointment. Gilhil: I'll contact the Plumbers on Earth and get them to help you. Get down there and report to the Mt. Rushmore base. Wysaq: Mt. What-more? Magister Gilhil paces in a circle and massages his temples in an attempt to conceal his temper. Clearly, he has no patience for these rookies. Gilhil: I'll send you the coordinates. Magister Gilhil out. His hologram disappears, accompanied by a beep. Maxatomar: We were terrible. ---- We see the main room of the headquarters. Due to Vilgax's defeat in the 70s, the Plumbers have mostly disbanded at this point. As such, the base is awfully deserted. The camera zooms towards the main computer, where a brown-haired Max in his early 40s monitors it. Suddenly, the computer beeps, with the words 'Incoming Call' in red flashing on screen. Max presses a few keys on the keyboard, and the screen goes blank for a while before it shows Magister Gilhil. Max salutes him with his right hand. Max: Magister. Gilhil: Agent Tennyson. Both of them lower their hands. Max: What's the occasion, sir? Gilhil: I need your help. Max: And here I thought you were checking in on your favorite protege. Gilhil, smiling: Don't flatter yourself, kid. Max smiles back, and Magister Gilhil regains a serious expression. Gilhil: There's a ship belonging to one Dr. Psychobos that's about to crash somewhere on your planet, hopefully somewhere near your location. One of my squads was supposed to capture him hours ago, but they failed. (shakes his head) You know rookies. Anyway, I want you to get someone to patch him up when he lands- uh, crashes, then send him to the Null Void. Max: Will do, sir. Gilhil: Oh, and I'm sending my squad down there, too. Max: Understood, sir. The call ends as Magister Gilhil disappears from the screen. ---- Outside the back entrance of the Mt. Rushmore base, Max and two other male human Plumbers (one Caucasian, one African-American) with a stretcher by their side, stand around and look at the sky. A loud whirring sound is heard as the Plumber ship from earlier descends from the sky. Four metal support beams emerge from the bottom of the ship as it lands, and a ramp comes down from it. Lal'Ek walks down from the ship, followed by Wyzaq and the male Maxatomar, standing at either side of an unconscious, energy-cuffed Dr. Psychobos, who has marks and cuts on his head and claws. Likely due to being injured, his right claw is bent unnaturally. Lal'Ek takes out her badge from her pocket and holds it up to verify her identity as a Plumber to Max and the others, before putting it back. Lal'Ek: Hi, I'm Lal'Ek. (points at her teammates) These are Wysaq and Purzen. She extends her upper right hand for Max to shake, which he does. He breaks away from the handshake and looks at Dr. Psychobos from top to bottom. Max: Another Cerebrocrustacean? Purzen: 'Another'? Max: It's a... long story. Wysaq: This one's tougher than he looks, trust me. Wysaq and Purzen walk towards the stretcher and gently place Dr. Psychobos on it. Max: He's hurt. Come on, let's get him to the infirmary. He smiles warmly at the trio. Max: In the meantime, I can cook something up for you before you head back home. Purzen: Good, I'm starving. He turns around, leading everyone into the headquarters. ---- A while later, we see an elevator on one of the lower levels of the headquarters; a narrow hallway with pale red walls. The elevator doors slide open with a ding, and the two human Plumbers from earlier carry the stretcher out of it. They continue walking down the hall with the stretcher and stop outside a door with a sign that says 'Infirmary'. Male Plumber: Servantis, open up! The door opens to reveal Servantis, a young, tall, pale-skinned bald Caucasian man with a pointed beard, wearing a standard Plumber suit along with light blue rubber gloves. He looks at Dr. Psychobos's unconscious body, though he is focused on his twisted arm in particular. Servantis: Intriguing. He steps aside to allow the Plumbers to haul the stretcher into the room. The room is medium-sized, with multiple vacant single beds against the wall, with wooden end tables filling the spaces between them. There are two cabinets on the opposite side of the room, along with a medical table between them. Putting the stretcher next to the bed closest to the door, the two Plumbers carefully lift Dr. Psychobos off of it and lay him down on the bed. Male Plumber: How long do you think it'll take to fix him up? Servantis looks him over. Servantis: About two- (grunts and holds his hands to his head) Agh! The African-American Plumber puts a hand on Servantis' shoulder. Male Plumber: Whoa, easy there. You alright? Servantis shakes the Plumber's hand off his shoulder. Servantis: I suppose it's just been a long day. Male Plumber: We could get one of the other medics to step in for you. We don't want you to overexert yourself. Servantis waves his right hand dismissively. Servantis: Nonsense. I'm perfectly capable of handling this. (pauses) Two hours. Both Plumbers nod and walk out the door. The African-American Plumber stops and turns his head around. Male Plumber: We should go out for supper after you're done. Servantis smiles. Servantis: Splendid idea. I'm famished. Male Plumber: Alright, see you in like two hours. Servantis walks towards the door and rears his head, watching him catch up to his partner. He closes the door and turns around, then looks at his left hand, which shakes violently. He then ignores it, exhaling sharply before approaching Dr. Psychobos. Servantis: (in his head) What a specimen. Servantis walks out of view of the camera, as it focuses on Dr. Psychobos. The scene transitions into a montage to show the events of the next few minutes. We see Dr. Psychobos in the exact same spot he was earlier, except his right claw is completely missing, with a blue glow where his shoulder joint would be. The camera pans across the room to show Servantis standing at the medical table. Dr. Psychobos' missing claw floats in a cylindrical tube containing a dark green liquid, also glowing at the end. Servantis looks through a black microscope. The montage ends and the scene fades to show Servantis still at the table, holding a syringe containing a light red liquid, cracking a smile. Servantis: (in his head) Third time's the charm. He holds the syringe to his neck and takes a deep breath. The camera focuses on his face tensing up as he does so. He pulls it out and holds it in front of his face to check that it's empty, which it is. He puts the syringe down, and his smile fades as he begins to grunt. He grips the edges of the table with force, before letting go and turning around. He falls to his knees and puts his hands on his head, grunting even louder. ---- The scene shifts to a few minutes later, to the headquarters' elevator on the same sub-level. It opens with a ding, and a tall elderly Chinese-American man with a black eyes, messy hair and a full grey beard steps out of it, followed by Max, Lal'Ek, Wysaq, Purzen, and the African-American Plumber from earlier. They walk down the hallway. Max: He should be just about done by now, Magister. They reach the infirmary and the Magister/Chinese-American man loudly knocks on the door twice. Magister: Servantis? He slowly opens the door, walking in. He stops right at the doorway, startled at something on the ground. Magister: What?! The camera shows what the Magister sees; Servantis lying on his front on the ground, unconscious. As he looks around, he notices that Dr. Psychobos' right claw is missing. Magister: Goodness! He runs into the room towards Servantis, crouching down. The other Plumbers enter behind him and spread out, observing the room. Max walks around the unnamed Magister and towards the medical table, grabbing the empty syringe that Servantis set down. He eyes it closely, then looks at Dr. Psychobos' claw in the tube. Max: Sir. The Magister reaches out with his right hand and grabs the syringe. The other Plumbers in the room gather around Servantis. Purzen: This... doesn't look good. Lal'Ek: For him or for us? Purzen: Could go either way, honestly. The unnamed Magister turns Servantis on his back and sees that his right arm and head are now colored purple. The Magister grunts in anger and shakes Servantis' shoulders. Magister: Wake up! Servantis opens his eyes (now colored completely red and shaped differently) and bolts up, taking in the situation before him as well as the Magister's angry expression. Servantis: Magi- Magister: What. Did. You. Do? Servantis sighs, standing up just as the Magister does. Everyone backs away a few steps to give him some breathing room. Servantis: I was dying and I did what I had to to cure myself. The Magister points at Dr. Psychobos. Magister: Do you have any idea what you just put us through?! That is another living being, not a toy to experiment on! Let's not even get into the fact that he's not even supposed to be here! He looks at Lal'Ek, Wysaq and Purzen. Magister: These three were supposed to apprehend that criminal hours ago! Are you out of your mind? Servantis scoffs softly. Servantis: Quite the opposite, Magister Chang. My plan was a success! I now know things I only dreamed of knowing. It's very... (sighs in contentment) liberating. Male Plumber: You could have just told us you were ill. We would've found a way to help. You wouldn't have had to resort to this! Servantis: Let's face the facts, Adriel. Nothing you could've come up with would've worked. Adriel steps back and looks to the side, hurt by Servantis' remark. Chang: Servantis, you are under arrest for unlawfully experimenting on another being. You're fired and you're going to the Null Void effective immediately. Max: Sir, shouldn't he be given a fair trial? Chang: No. He broke our trust. He deserves to be thrown into that cesspool. (grunts) And to think I admired your skills. If only I knew you were using them for things like this. Adriel raises a finger, about to speak. Adriel: Sir, I strongly think- Chang: I'' strongly think you should shut up and bring me the Null Void Projector before I assign you to the graveyard shift. 'Adriel: Y-Yes, sir. He runs towards the door and opens it, exiting the room. '''Wysaq: Harsh. Magister Chang shoots Wysaq an icy glare. He clears his throat and looks at the ground, embarrassed. Magister Chang then gives Servantis the same glare. Chang: Try anything and you'll regret it. Servantis: Why, I wouldn't dream of it. My skills are wasted here. I see that now. Purzen: You're crazy if you actually want to be trapped in the Null Void. Lal'Ek: Or... you know, just crazy, period. A beeping sound is heard, and everyone looks at the source; Wysaq, who takes out his Plumber badge. Wysaq: Magister Prior Gilhil. He looks at everyone in the room, as if to ask for permission to answer the call. Chang: Go ahead. Wysaq taps on his badge, and a full-body hologram of Magister Gilhil appears on it. Wysaq: H-Hello, Magister. Gilhil: Status report? Wysaq: Ah, well... that's kinda... uh, complicated. The medic who was assigned to patch Psychobos up experimented on him, and... He turns his badge around to show Servantis to Magister Gilhil, whose eyes widen. Gilhil: Let me speak to the Magister in charge. Wysaq hands his badge over to Magister Chang. Chang: Magister Gilhil, Magister Chang. Sorry for the hold-up. I sincerely had no idea Servantis was capable of doing this. Gilhil: I find it difficult to believe that you didn't suspect anything about your subordinate before today. Chang: He was careful. Gilhil: Then why would he choose now to be reckless? Max: You may be on to something, Magister Gilhil. Notice how the door was unlocked when we came in? Magister Chang turns to look at Servantis. Chang: What are you playing at? Servantis merely smirks. The door opens and Adriel comes running in with a Null Void Projector, not bothering to close the door. He walks up to Magister Chang and hands him the Null Void Projector. Gilhil: Arrest him and take him in for questioning. He hands Wysaq's badge back to him and raises his right arm to aim the Null Void Projector at Servantis. Everyone else steps back, towards the left back corner of the room. Gilhil: I'm warning you. Don't send him to the Null Void. Not yet. We need to be smart about this. Chang: No, whatever he's trying to pull is a trick. He wants us to think he has something planned in the Null Void so we won't send him there, but he'll escape the second we lead him out of the room. I can't have that. Magister Chang presses the trigger. The Null Void Projector fires a red portal behind Servantis. He stands still with a grin on his face and is sucked into the portal within seconds. The portal slowly shrinks, before disappearing altogether. Gilhil: Are you dense? I specifically told you to take him in for questioning! Now we don't know what he was really up to! Magister Chang hands the Null Void Projector to Adriel and yanks Wysaq's badge away from him, looking at Magister Gilhil's hologram in the eye. Chang: That's hypocritical, considering you told us to send Psychobos to the Null Void after tending to his injuries. Gilhil: He already got a fair trial and still went against interstellar law. The Galactic Court gave us the okay to send him to the Null Void. Magister Chang stays silent, defeated. Chang: I'm the Magister of this base and this planet. Sending him to the Null Void got rid of a disobedient subordinate and a possible future threat and that's all that matters. Gilhil: You want to compare ranks? (scoffs) I'm the Magister of this sector, Chang. Dozens of planets under my watch, including yours. I'm your boss, no matter how detached you are from the rest of the galaxy's Plumbers. You just disobeyed a direct order. You're lucky I have more important things to do right now than deal with you. Get someone competent to see to Psychobos and send him to the Null Void when he regains consciousness. Magister Gilhil out. As Magister Gilhil's hologram fades, Magister Chang carelessly throws the badge to the ground and walks towards the door. Wysaq bends over to pick it up. Chang: (grumbles softly) Scum. He walks out of the room. Everyone left in the room looks at each other, at a loss for words. ---- The camera zooms into a deep, dark cave, where the only source of light is a burning campfire. A tired Servantis sits nearby and puts his hands over the fire to stay warm. His entire body is now colored purple and he has a pincer in place of his left hand. His Plumber suit is torn in different places. Voice: Hope we're not interrupting anything important. His voice bounces off the walls, echoing in the cave. Servantis immediately stands up and gets into a battle-ready stance, looking in the direction of the entrance of the cave. Three figures approach him, stepping into the light; Magister Chang (with a smirk on his face), an overweight male Tetramand and a green-skinned male humanoid with a fin on his head. All three of them are dressed in sleek black armor. Servantis: Of all people, I was hoping I would never have to see you again, Chang. Chang: Likewise, but here we are. I have to admit, for a Plumber who barely passed combat exercises in the Academy, you're holding up impressively well. crossing his arms: May I be so bold as to ask what exactly you're doing in my presence? Were you fired too? Who are these people? Chang: I'm not going to beat around the bush. Whatever happened the other day, you were set up. Tetramand: By us. Servantis: Nonsense. Everything happened almost exactly as I wanted it to. Tetramand: Which part? You getting Psychobos to crash to Earth or you getting sent here? Servantis: Lal'Ek- Tetramand: Was hired by us to get in contact with you on the Extranet. You were looking for a Cerebrocrustacean, weren't you? We made her make sure Psychobos would crash to Earth so that you would get the chance to experiment on him and turn into... (moves his hand over Servantis) that unsightly mess. Servantis' eyes widen. Servantis: I distinctly remember giving her the orders to do that myself! The Tetramand shakes his head. Tetramand: You just thought she was working for you. facing Magister Chang: (smiles sarcastically) Oh, and what's next? I suppose your outburst was just for show? Chang: Well, yes. Servantis' smile turns into a frown. Chang: I had to (makes air quotes) "recklessly disobey a higher-ranking Magister" and send you to the Null Void so we could proceed with our plans. He takes a step forward. Chang: Full disclosure, I don't like you, and I know the feeling is mutual, but I'd been watching you long before you got fired. In fact, I- we... admire your skills. Servantis: I'd appreciate it if you would stop being cryptic. Thus far, it seems to me that you manipulated me into thinking my plan was actually mine even though everything played out to your liking. I don't like it. Humanoid: We're part of a black ops group within the Plumbers, secretly in control of a number of illegal activities. Servantis doesn't seem fazed. Servantis: How does this concern me? Humanoid: You're not surprised? Servantis: No, I simply don't care. Tetramand: Let us pique your curiosity, then. Are you familiar with Incarcecon? Servantis: The prison that houses intergalactic criminals? The one that the Plumbers have no jurisdiction over? Tetramand: Yes and no. The Plumbers as a whole don't have jurisdiction over it, but we do. Servantis: And who exactly are you? Tetramand: Magister Gorvan. (points to the green-skinned humanoid) That's Magister Coronach. Coronach: We're putting you in-charge of the Null Void Incarcecon facility. Our interests are aligned. You have a knack for experimenting on other species and we want to exploit that. We've been using the prisoners for our own gain, but they're constantly exposed to a hallucinogen found in the mines so they remain satiated. Of course, some prisoners have a lower tolerance towards said hallucinogen, so they don't all live for very long. Servantis: Hearing you admit that with such pride disgusts me. Coronach: Which is where you come in. We want you to use your Cerebrocrustacean abilities to erase their memories of ever being sent on missions so we can use them over and over again without them ever being the wiser. If you cooperate with us, you'll have complete control of the entire facility. You'll be free to do whatever you want with the prisoners, as long as they're kept alive. Think about it, you'll be saving lives if you work with us. Chang: That's a fair deal, don't you think? Servantis: No, not at all. I do not appreciate being told what do, nor do I have any interest in partaking in your barbaric activities. Chang: Maybe we didn't make ourselves clear. You don't actually have a choice in the matter. Servantis: (scoffs) What could you possibly hold against me to make me your lapdog? (gestures around him) Where else could you send me that's worse than this nightmare realm? Chang: You were awfully close to Albright when you were still employed. Servantis' slightly taunting demeanor diminishes, replaced by a look of genuine concern. Servantis: Leave him out of this. Gorvan: Work with us and your friend stays alive. Servantis: You mean work for you. Magister Gorvan shrugs. Gorvan: Semantics. Chang: If you try to attack us or escape, we will find Adriel and kill him. Servantis: The three of you against me? I might have trouble with the Tetramand, but you two should be easy to subdue. Coronach: For someone with Cerebrocrustacean DNA, you're dense. Did you actually think the three of us were all we had? Even if you manage to kill us, our partners will learn of it and kill your friend before finding you to force you to work for us the hard way. Servantis' head plates separate, almost firing a blast of electricity, but Magister Gorvan instantly grabs him by the neck with his upper right hand and pins him to the wall of the cave, choking him. Servantis' head plates close up as his legs wiggle, struggling to escape from Magister Gorvan's grasp. Gorvan: What'll it be? Coronach: Don't make things harder for yourself than it needs to be. Servantis: (croakily) Leave... (pants) Leave Adriel alone, and... (pants) I'll do whatever you want. Magister Gorvan looks at his partners, who nod. He lets Servantis go, who takes a deep breath. He falls to the ground on his knees, rubbing his neck. Magister Chang offers him his right hand. Servantis slaps it away and gets up. Servantis: What guarantee would I have that Adriel will be left alone? Coronach: We don't want to go through the trouble of having to come up with a cover story for his death. Cooperate with us and he'll be fine. So will you. Servantis: I'll have full control over Incarcecon as long as I follow your orders, correct? Coronach: Yes. Servantis: (groans) I don't like this. Chang: You don't have to. He extends his hand for Servantis to shake. Servantis takes a few seconds to look at the three Plumbers in front of him, then returns the handshake. THE END! Noteworthy Events Major Events *Servantis becomes a human-Cerebrocrustacean hybrid and is imprisoned in the Null Void. *The Rooters are introduced as a group of high-ranking Plumbers that control numerous illegal activities across the galaxy. *Servantis is recruited into the Rooters. Character Debuts *Servantis *Adriel Albright *Lal'Ek *Wysaq *Purzen *Max Tennyson *Dr. Psychobos *Magister Prior Gilhil *Magister Karter Chang *Magister Gorvan *Magister Coronach Characters *Servantis (first appearance) *Adriel Albright (first appearance) *Plumbers **Lal'Ek (first appearance) **Wysaq (first appearance) **Purzen (first appearance) **Magister Prior Gilhil (first appearance; hologram) *Max Tennyson (first appearance) Villains *Dr. Psychobos (first appearance) *Rooters **Magister Karter Chang (first appearance) **Magister Gorvan (first appearance) **Magister Coronach (first appearance) Allusions *The episode is named after the song of the same name by Why Don't We.